The Heroes Hop
by Hermione Vader
Summary: Inspired by the iPod Shuffle Challenge. 10 ficlets looking into the lives and minds of the Heroes characters inspired by ten songs on my iPod, but not necessarily a songfic. R&R, please!


The Heroes Hop

**The **_**Heroes**_** Hop**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Heroes_ or any of the songs. Ah well…

**A/N:** I was originally tagged by **SevenMinutesToMidnight** for the iPod Shuffle Challenge, so I wrote one for the TV show _Supernatural_. I put some new music on my iPod today, so I'm going to try again with _Heroes_ because this is challenging and fun.

"Stupid Girls" by P!nk

When Claire became a cheerleader, it hadn't occurred to her what kind of reputation she might get. After a few weeks she saw that her peers seemed more aloof towards her, especially the less popular kids. She heard them whisper words like "stupid," "ditz," "bimbo," and even "slut." That was not who she was. When she started hanging out with Zach, it changed. She no longer cared about popularity and she knew that she definitely didn't want to be a "stupid blonde."

"Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance

After homecoming and her encounter with the Haitian, Claire became really paranoid. She kept wondering if her dad was always watching, if he tape-recorded her every move. So she could heal. She was still just a teenager. It wasn't like she was dangerous or anything. That was her dad. Was he part of some larger conspiracy?

"Who Knew" by P!nk

Who knew that Bennet actually had the gall to shoot him? Who knew Claude would survive? Who would've ever thought it would come to this? Claude thought that Bennet was the one person he could always count on; Bennet was the closest friend he'd ever had. That just made the wounds hurt more, made the fall longer, harder. So many years later, those wounds still hadn't fully healed--at least the deepest ones hadn't.

"Your Song" by Elton John

It was so odd; Claude didn't even seem to like him, and yet Peter was strangely attracted to him. What made it weirder was that Peter knew so little about him. During their "training sessions," Peter would sometimes daydream about what Claude might've done before he became a full-time invisible hobo. He was definitely not a counselor of any sort. Maybe he'd worked in a haunted house at Halloween scaring the crap out of people; Claude would make a good angry, vengeful ghost--he certainly had the temper for it. Maybe he was some sort of secret agent, since invisibility would be useful in that line of work. Nah, Claude wasn't the James Bond type--he wasn't suave enough for martinis and tuxedos. But it was probably something dangerous like that; that's probably how he got that melancholy look in his eyes. That look just made him more attractive.

"Dirty Little Secret" by The All-American Rejects

Nathan had to admit it--that night with Niki really _was_ one of the best he'd ever had. Their bodies entwined, moving in rhythm with each other…he'd never connected with any woman like that before. And he'd like to try it again. But he had a duty to his family. That night and his feelings about it would become just one big, dirty secret that he'd sweep under the rug.

"Renegade" by Styx

Running from the Company wasn't easy. Unless you were Claude. Then you could just disappear and stay hidden without thinking twice. Bennet envied that ability when he found himself in the same situation. He actually had to _plan_ his escape. He had to think about aliases and cover stories and safe locations while Claude just vanished into thin air.

Then Bennet thought about it more. Claude couldn't ever be seen by another human being. He couldn't contact anyone. He couldn't talk to anyone. He didn't know how Claude did for seven years what would drive most insane after a few hours. But the Company had found Claude and Bennet knew that it was only a matter of time before they found him, too, but he'd like to make that time last as long as he could.

"100 Years" by Five for Fighting

The maximum life span for a normal human was one hundred years. Those who lived that long had no idea how lucky they were. Adam did. He knew that one hundred years was a long enough time to see the world change, but not long enough to see it stay the same. After one hundred years had passed, Adam realized that human history always repeated itself. And it sickened him to see everyone else wander around ignorant of this fact, never noticing how all of the wars seemed to blur together, each ruler seemed no different than his predecessor or his successor. There was no change. Adam knew that he had his longevity for a reason: to bring about that necessary change. But he also knew he had to build from the ground up. He'd bide his time and wait for the opportune moment to present itself.

"Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash

It wasn't the confinement that bothered Adam; it was the fact that the world moved on without him. He hadn't seen the sun in years and yet he'd see some of the female employees with suntans and that was how he knew it was summer. These people led lives and had families and just kept going, and yet he was stuck in a cell. He hadn't done wrong, just tried to change things. He just wanted to see that sun again. It was funny--he despised the world so much, but now he just wanted to be a part of it.

"You Needed Me" by Anne Murray

Claude acted like he hated Peter, but he kept training him. Peter wondered about it. And then one day, he found his answer: he didn't need Claude; Claude needed Peter. After wandering for so long unseen, Claude needed someone, anyone to see him. He was starved for companionship. Even if he did loath Peter, at least he wasn't alone.

"Mack the Knife" by Bobby Darin

Audrey couldn't figure out how Sylar did it. His trademark was a full lobotomy, but how did he do it? Was he some sort of rogue brain surgeon? The incisions were always quite precise, so he had to have some sort of experience in that area? What did he do with the brains? Was he a Hannibal Lecter type? And how did he choose his victims? He seemed to choose them at random, but maybe there was some connection she was missing. Or maybe he was just a shark--biting at the nearest source of meat.


End file.
